Les élections provinciales sont ce lundi, et il est temps de faire notre récolte d’affiches vandalisées. Aujourd’hui, je suis passé devant cette affiche de Pauline Marois, chef du PQ, “modifiée” par ce qui a l’air d’être plus qu’un simple passant.
Tout près de la maison de Radio-Canada, quelqu’un muni d’autocollants de couleur pourpre s’est amusé à coller des répliques à saveur étudiante aux slogans des trois principaux partis (les pancartes de Québec solidaire ont pour leur part été épargnées).
14 comments
I do not agree with this blog supporting vandalism. And the first picture looks EXTREMELY ugly in my opinion. I wish Montreal was not filled with this kind of people (both the vandals and the people who support them like you). I am not one of those who think vandalism (graffiti tagging, etc) promotes violence or insecurity in the city, but you have to agree with me that it is in part responsible for the carelessness of the people who live here. Have you wondered why no citizen cares for cleaning up the sidewalk on the Main (or any commercial street in the Plateau)? It’s simple: It will anyway look dirty. They don’t even clean the tags anymore. Vandals have complete control over every commercial street in most areas of the city, and all in the name of self-promotion. Nothing good has ever come from destructive vandalism, we all know that. Why do you seem to think something good will ever result from it?
Wow… du calme, svp. I hardly like tagging either, but of the cities I’ve been to — quite a few — I’d say Montreal’s about in the middle. A lot more than it used to be, but a lot less than many places.
Carelessness causes tagging? Hmm… one of the things I love about Montreal is how well it works without a well-developed sense of civic duty. People don’t try to do the “right” thing here, and being a good citizen isn’t particularly valued. What is valued more is individual expression and enjoying life. Strangely enough, this doesn’t translate into chaos, but into a more relaxed city, while remaining, compared to many places, surprisingly clean, quiet, and orderly.
And while I don’t like tagging either, it is not true that no good comes out of it… it allows those of us who don’t like it to be scandalized at the shocking decline of our society and cities, for example. Or it helps angry young men get their destructive tendencies out in a fairly harmless way. Or gives them motivation to move on to more artistic graffiti. Or a much-needed sense of belonging and knowledge that their lives do make an impact on this world after all.
TheMontrealGuy: Another consideration is that Montreal has the highest proportion of renters in Canada – especially in certain neighbourhoods like the Plateau.
People who don’t own property are less inclined to pick up after themselves than those who do.
Tristou: I did not mean that carelessness causes tagging but that vandalism causes carelessness. If you think something is out of your hands, you tend to let it go, and eventually you don’t care. I believe that is what is happening to Montrealers. Take a walk during the day on St Laurent north of Prince Arthur up to Mount Royal and write back.
Josh: That is a very interesting point. I believe you are right. Thanks.
Hmm… I just did that yesterday, actually, up to Laurier and had a wonderful croissant and café at La Coissanterie Figaro with a friend who’s been living abroad for the past few years, first in Budapest and now in Reading. And we were talking a lot about the merits of Montreal, and where it’s lacking.
If you see Montrealers as being more careless than before, who am I to say you’re wrong? That’s not my experience, that’s all. In fact, I find Montreal much better than when I moved here, oh, 20 years ago. The inner neighbourhoods have transformed themselves into wonderful places indeed… the Village, Le Plateau, and Le Quartier Latin where I live used to be dingy, poor, depressed. Now they’re vibrant indeed, for example.
Since you suggested I take a walk up St-Laurent, I suggest you travel a bit and see what other cities are like. Montreal definitely has its faults, but in comparison it’s pretty darn good.
And renters not picking up after themselves: hmmm, I suppose I could be insulted, given that I rent….
While it’s true that the “pancartes” makeover can be considered as vandalism, I wouldn’t say it is carelessness. Actually it’s quite the opposite – people are taking time to express an opinion (in this case towards politics). It might not be the best way to do so, but it does show a strong point of view. As far as I’m concerned, the cards themselves can be considered as visual pollution (and are pretty bad for the environment).
I also have to say that Pauline’s makeover actually made me laugh!
Since we live in a democratic country, we all have the right to express our opinions. Now let’s see which political party will save us from poverty, taxes !
I didn’t mean carelessness about political issues. Political issues are extremely important for Montrealers. I am talking about carelessness concerning cleanliness. Wasn’t my post clear enough? Fighting visual pollution with more visual pollution shows that you don’t really care about the way things look, but only about promoting your point of view as quickly as possible, which is cool, but that is simply not my point… Eyesores like graffiti tags and litter are a horrible epidemic in most parts of the city, and yes, I have travelled. If you say Montreal is about in the middle, then I guess you have travelled a lot to Europe, where cities can be dipped in garbage and they will still look incredibly good, but we just can’t afford that bs in North America. This is not Paris.
Zaharoula said: “Now let’s see which political party will save us from poverty, taxes”… and I thought I was ignorant about politics.
Your post was perfectly clear, and I think you are right (the same thing is happening here), but do you really expect internet people to read anything with comprehension? Carelessness abounds, and literacy is so 20th century.
Hmm… I found graffiti in Europe sadder, actually –a tag on a beautiful 16th-century church seems more destructive than on a 1950’s stand à patate. And I still want an Amélie Poulin graffiti-free version of our cities of course. But I no longer get angry at tags, nor even complain about them, since the anger does me no good, and complaining doesn’t get them cleaned up any faster.
And obviously our travels have differed, since compared to most places I’ve seen, tags and litter are hardly in epidemic proportions. We’re not the cleanest, but we’re definitely cleaner than most.
Maybe you are right Tristou, complaining will probably do nothing. I will see what I can do myself to help solving this problem. Maybe Montreal is cleaner than most, but in my opinion, being a Canadian city, it is supposed and normally expected to be cleaner. TheTorontoGuy, I hope Toronto can stop it on time. Good night guys.
I believe your more ignorant than me !
I am very ignorant Zaharoula. I was being defensive when I said that. What I meant is that your views are simplistic and overly optimistic… but who am I to say that anyway…
Not everyone is receptive about vandalism. Personally, I do not agree with the idea but for some reasons, it can be used as a form of communtication. Some people are conservative about this and we should respect that.